Tax Credits: Public statistics

In this section you will find links to statistics about the current tax credits system as well as historical statistics on the old Working Families Tax Credit and Disabled Person’s Tax Credit.

HMRC Tax Credit Statistics

HMRC publish statistics about tax credits awards in two sets. The first set covers provisional awards and provides a snap shot at a specific date, the second set covers finalised awards for entitlement years. It is the finalised award statistics that show the overpayment figures for each year.

The following statistics show the take up rates for WTC and CTC. The take-up rates are the proportion of those entitled to tax credits who claim them, and are estimated using a combination of administrative and survey data according to the HMRC website. Since 2007-2008 figures have been expanded to include child benefit.

The following links will take you to the HMRC error and fraud statistics which are compiled using the random enquiry programme which is ‘an annual statistical enquiry run by HMRC designed to measure levels of error and fraud in finalised tax credits awards’:

Child poverty statistics - child poverty statistics based on the national indicator 116, are available via the National Archives.

Children in low-income families local measure - The Children in Low-Income Families Local Measure shows the proportion of children living in families in receipt of out-of-work (means-tested) benefits or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent of UK median income.

Small area statistics - these statistics show the number of families benefiting from CTC and WTC in each small area and the number of children in these families. The tables include out of work families with children who receive the same level of support as provided by CTC, but where it is paid as child allowances in Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (IS/JSA).

The Tax Benefit Model Tables - now ceased and no longer available. This was is an annual publication designed to illustrate the weekly financial circumstances of a selection of hypothetical local authority and private tenants.